Biographical / Historical
Scope and Contents
Related Materials
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
San Diego Air and Space Museum Library and Archives
Title: Emmett Tanner Personal Papers
Identifier/Call Number: SDASM.SC.10182
Physical Description:
.4 Cubic Feet
This is a one box collection with measurements 15 ¼ x 10 ½ x 5 inches. The collection contains newspaper clippings, patent
documents, and drawings, certificates, photographs, and a photographic album. It also contains four panoramic photographs
rolled up into scrolls.
Date (bulk): bulk
Abstract: Emmet Tanner enlisted in the Army at the start of World War I. In 1919, Tanner won the first transcontinental air race from
San Francisco to New York City in a de Havilland plane (the first of the Western flyers to make the trip).
Biographical / Historical
Emmet Tanner enlisted in the Army at the start of World War I. In 1919, Tanner won the first transcontinental air race from
San Francisco to New York City in a de Havilland plane (the first of the Western flyers to make the trip). Additionally, he
piloted Lydia “Grandma” Kahl, in her eighties, making her the oldest woman to fly. He also holds a patent on a rotary gas
engine which helped increase engine power for future aircraft.
Emmett Tanner died as a result of an aircraft crash in the San Francisco bay on August 22, 1923.
Scope and Contents
This is a one box collection with measurements 15 ¼ x 10 ½ x 5 inches. The collection contains newspaper clippings, patent
documents, and drawings, certificates, photographs, and a photographic album. It also contains four panoramic photographs
rolled up into scrolls.
Related Materials
DH.4 Aircraft files.
Transcontinental Record
Subjects and Indexing Terms
De Havilland Aircraft Company Limited
De Havilland DH.4
91st Aero Squadron
Rockwell Field
Tanner, Emmett